Shorecrest Welcomes New Talent to Leadership Team

Published 8/17/2017

by Rachel Barrett, Director of Marketing & Communications

After extensive national searches, Shorecrest Preparatory School is pleased to welcome three new leaders to the administrative team. Dr. Sherri Danyali will assume the role of Director of The Experiential School of Tampa Bay, Shorecrest’s 3, 4, and 5-year-old program. Michael Gillis joins the Advancement Office as Director of Advancement, and Roderick Avery Fludd is the school’s first Director of Diversity and Inclusion.

Dr. Sherri Danyali succeeds Betty Gootson as the Director of The Experiential School of Tampa Bay. Gootson retired from Shorecrest after more than 30 years working with families of young children. Dr. Danyali comes to Shorecrest from The Benjamin School in Palm Beach Gardens. She has a 20+ year career in early childhood education, serving most recently as the Director of Worlds of Wonder at The Benjamin School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in World Religions from the University of Georgia, a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Georgia State University and an Educational Doctorate in Education Leadership, Curriculum and Teaching from Nova Southeastern University.

Michael Gillis takes the helm of the school’s Advancement initiatives as the Director of Advancement following Adrianne Finley Odell, who was recently named Head of School at Roycemore School in Evanston, IL. An alumnus and the Honegger Prize recipient at Choate Rosemary Hall, Mr. Gillis studied Communication, Sociolinguistics and German at The University of Vermont (B.A.) and later at The University of Salzburg, Goethe Institute in Austria. He also studied with the Fundraising School as part of the Lily School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Mr. Gillis spent the first portion of his career in media and fundraising as a producer and director with companies including Fox Home Entertainment, Sony Studios, Columbia Tristar and MGM. In recent years he has directed the major gifts program at North County School and a capital campaign for Manhattan Country School.

Joining Shorecrest in the newly created Director of Diversity and Inclusion position is Roderick Avery Fludd. The Director of Diversity and Inclusion plans, implements, and measures the diversity initiatives of the school. The role also supports the recruitment and retention of families from diverse backgrounds, partners with faculty for curriculum planning, and serves as a school liaison to the greater Tampa Bay Area community.

Mr. Fludd, a Columbia, South Carolina native, comes to Shorecrest with more than 20 years of experience in education, and 12 years in Diversity, Inclusion and Equity work. Prior to Shorecrest he served as Director of Diversity Programs and Community Life at The Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich, CT. Mr. Fludd holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, SC, and a master’s of Education from Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY.

In addition to the three new administrators, Shorecrest also welcomes a number of new faculty and staff for the 2017-18 school year. Learn more about the incoming educators at www.shorecrest.org/newstaff2017.

According to Shorecrest Headmaster Mike Murphy, “We are pleased to be able to attract such talented educational leaders to Shorecrest and to St. Petersburg and look forward to introducing them to our school community and the community at large.”

About Shorecrest:

Founded in 1923, Shorecrest is a coed, nonsectarian, PK-12 independent school in St. Petersburg, FL. In a safe, student-centered environment, Shorecrest educates a diverse community of students to become lifelong learners in the pursuit of personal and academic excellence, physical well-being, creative achievement and the development of a commitment to social responsibility. Shorecrest graduates empathetic, independent thinkers who succeed at the university level, pursue their passions, and lead purposeful lives. Learn more at www.shorecrest.org.